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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



HOW TO MAKE AND USE 
MATCH PLATES 



Copyright 1915 
By E.^J. Byerlein, Saginaw, Mich., U. S. A. 



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CI.A410563 

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PREFACE 

Owing to the great change that has been made 
in the method of moulding in the past few years, 
a great demand has risen for men who can mount 
various types of patterns for the proper moulding 
machines, so as to promote rapid production in 
moulding. 

I am a practical man, and not capable of using 
any term which will not be readily understood by 
the average working man, and I will endeavor to 
make my points clear and simple enough so that 
they may be applied to any class of work. I have 
simplified the illustration on making an Aluminum 
Match Plate by using only one pattern, as a com- 
plicated mould would be apt to confuse the reader. 
The principle illustrated in this simple mould may 
be carried out in the same manner on work which 
is more complicated. 



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JUDGMENT IN MAKING EQUIPMENT 

IN MY experience, I have found that it 
requires considerable study to ascertain 

the very best way to mount various pat- 
terns so as to obtain the best results. The 
average pattern maker and foundry fore- 
man has no experience in this line until a 
moulding machine is purchased by their 
firm, after which they receive their instruc- 
tions from the representative of this mould- 
ing machine concern, who in turn instructs 
them as to the best ways of making their 
work on his machine, and urges them to 
put all of their work on this machine re- 
gardless of the expense in rigging up these 
jobs, or of the fact that there may be other 
machines much more adapted to the work. 

The first question which should be 
asked when considering the cutting of costs 
on a certain casting, is, what is the prospec- 
tive number that will be made each year, 
and will the model be apt to remain the 
same for any great length of time ? Figure 
the approximate cost of making your equip- 
ment, and the probable saving that would 
be made in moulding costs. If the equip- 
ment will pay for itself in a reasonable 
length of time, then go ahead. I have 
known of patterns being made up on an 
Aluminum Match Plate when the firm was 
only using about one hundred castings of 



this type per year, and in all probability 
the design of this pattern would be changed 
long before the plate ever paid for itself. 
This can be readily figured. For example, 
if you used one hundred castings per year, 
and a moulder produced these in one day 
from two loose patterns at a wage of three 
dollars ($3.00) per day, each casting would 
cost you three cents for the moulding. If 
after the job was made on a plate with two 
patterns on a gate, one hundred and twen- 
ty-five moulds or two hundred and fifty 
castings per day were made, your castings 
would cost you approximately one and one- 
fifth cents each, and you would have a total 
saving of one dollar and eighty cents 
($1.80) on your year's business. If your 
Match Plate cost you twenty dollars 
($20.00), it would take about eleven years 
to pay for the plate, and it is more than 
likely that the design of the pattern would 
be changed before that time and the plate 
discarded. I am merely citing this exam- 
ple to warn you that it is equally as import- 
ant to use judgment as it is to be able to rig 
up work. 

In the following pages I will endeavor 
to explain the uses of different types of 
plates in their proper places. 




FIG. I. 

Pattern and flask set up on blocks in position 

for ramming the drag. 



PROPER TYPE OF PLATE 

Any flat pattern that is all in the drag, 
or any pattern which can be split on a 
straight parting line, should never be cast 
on a plate but should be riveted to the 
plate, or screwed to a wooden plate. Pat- 
terns which are cast on plates, can be cast 
of aluminum or iron, but aluminum is pref- 
erable. There are also compounds used 
successfully in casting plates by some firms. 
Before placing patterns on plates, see that 
they are drafted properly and put in good 
condition. If the firm demands a casting 
square and without draft, the pattern 
should be put on a stripping plate. It is 
often necessary to make castings on a 
moulding machine for accuracy as well as 
to increase the output. Before making 
your master pattern, decide on the best pos- 
sible parting line. Some patterns with 
pockets or deep curves will not cope out 
without soldiers or extra security when 
made with the pocket side up, but by 
moulding pocket side down, you would 
have no trouble with the cope. In many 
cases, however, it will be necessary to have 
these pockets or cores in the cope, in order 
to have the face or machine side of casting 
in the drag. After you have decided upon 
the proper parting line, draft your pattern 
from this line. On some patterns which 



give trouble in the foundry through some 
straight part or narrow core, it is well to 
take the matter up with the engineer or 
draftsman, as oftentimes they can alter the 
design to help the foundry without indebti- 
ment to the casting. If the pattern is small 
you will cast a number of them on the 
plate, and the next step is to decide the 
proper size snap flask to use. I have al- 
ways considered that I would get the most 
efficiency by using a medium sized flask, 
although foundrymen's ideas differ greatly 
on this point. After you have decided upon 
the proper sized flask to use, you will then 
determine how many patterns can be used 
in this space. One inch of sand is sufficient 
for joint in most cases, and the manner in 
which the patterns are located on the plate 
will be determined by the best method of 
gating. Judgment should be used as to 
how the mould will fill up, and the gate 
should be arranged so as to prevent the 
metal from cutting a mould or washing 
small cores. The surfaces of the castings 
which are to be machined, should be avoid- 
ed in gating. Many castings are missrun 
by the metal not entering the mould in the 
proper place. In many cases where there 
are cores which necessitate a passage for 
gas, it is well to gate casting on opposite 
end from vent, so as to allow gas to travel 




FIG. II. 
Drag rolled over and parting- made. 



in the same direction as the metal. In some 
cases it is well to have a gate made in wood, 
so that it can be rammed up in the mould 
when making the plate, although in most 
instances the gate can be cut after the pat- 
terns are drawn. When you require a num- 
ber of patterns in making a plate, it is well 
to cast them of lead or babbitt metal, as 
this is easily scraped and finished for 
moulding. In cases where you have a pat- 
tern and would like to make a plate from 
same to save the cost of a new master pat- 
tern, it can oftentimes be cut in places and 
spread to allow the proper shrinkage. 
Patterns which have heavy sections can be 
cored out by letting the core cut through 
in places. These prints should be round, 
so that the holes can be cleaned out with a 
drill and plugged. This gives you a plate 
which is lighter in weight and also over- 
comes the shrinkage in the heavy parts. 
The shrinkage of aluminum requires a 
great deal of precaution on some heavy 
types of patterns. The cracking of alumi- 
num castings in cooling is often caused by 
the presence of zinc in the mixture. 

I explain in the following pages the 
methods I used with the best success in this 
work. 



MAKING A PLATE 

After having your master patterns 
cleaned and in good drawing condition, set 
them on a straight board and wedge them 
up in the position which they should be 
when cast on the plate, as in figure I. If 
you have a gate to ram up with the pat- 
terns, place it in the proper position as in 
Figure I, then determine how high the cope 
half of the pattern should extend above the 
joint of the mould. If it should be one inch, 
for example, cut some pieces of wood one 
inch thick, and place them under the edges 
of the flask as in Figure I. You are now 
prepared to ram the mould. I find a me- 
dium fine grade of sand very satisfactory 
for this work. Work your sand as dry as 
possible, as it is necessary to ram the drag 
half of the mould hard enough to withstand 
the ramming of the cope. If the drag is 
rammed too soft, you will ram the parting 
too low in places when ramming the cope, 
and will more than likely get a very untrue 
surface. Ordinarily this work does not re- 
quire venting. Be very careful to rub bot- 
tom board on firmly, and use clamps to roll 
over. Rub flask to a good seat on the floor 
before removing clamps, as you are in dan- 
ger of changing the position of patterns 
when ramming the cope if you have left 
play in the bottom board. After removing 



the follow board, you will have sand ex- 
tending above the joint of the flask the 
same thickness as the blocks which you 
used to jump the drag. This sand should 
be struck off with a true straight edge, only 
leaving sufficient sand around patterns to 
form the proper parting. Great care should 
be taken in making the parting, as a slight 
mistake in same will cull the plate. After 
making the parting as near perfect as pos- 
sible, rap the pattern slightly, and start to 
draw each one. It is not necessary to draw 
the patterns, but barely raise them, as this 
will show you whether you have parted low 
enough to allow them to draw freely. It 
may be well to add at this time that in 
drawing the pattern, a screw should be 
used, as in pounding in a draw plug, it is 
possible to rock the pattern in the mould, 
or to pound it down if the plug does not 
take hold readily. After you have ascer- 
tained that the parting is correct, tool the 
mould as smoothly as possible. Then dust 
parting lightly over the drag. We are now 
in position to ram the cope. See that the 
cope is stiff and barred close enough to 
prevent any sagging after the mould is 
complete, as you will remember that the 
mould has no bearing in the center. The 
flask should have four pins and they should 
stand perfectly at right angles with the 



joint of the flask. Now set the sprue and 
ram the cope. It will not be necessary to 
ram the cope hard if it is properly barred. 
When setting the sprue, have in mind the 
fact that the plate will take up consider- 
able space, and set the sprue where it will 
allow sufficient space for cutting gates. If 
you experience any difficulty in securing a 
good cope, examine the patterns carefully, 
as this is fairly good evidence that some 
change is necessary. It may be the lack of 
proper draft on the patterns and again it 
is possible that the patterns are not set 
properly in the mould. In cases where the 
patterns have good draft with the excep- 
tion of one straight side, it may be neces- 
sary to tip the patterns slightly so as to 
equalize the draft and favor this straight 
side. If you find that the patterns would 
cope to a better advantage when tipped a 
trifle, do not try to tip them in the drag, but 
shake the drag out and set the patterns up 
properly and ram a new drag. In chang- 
ing the position of the pattern after the 
drag is rammed, you are in danger of los- 
ing the true shape of the pattern. Another 
point which should be brought to your at- 
tention is the fact that you would certainly 
experience difficulty in getting a good cope 
off the plate with the use of a snap flask, 
when you are unable to get a good lift with 




PIG. III. 
Cope and drag rammed. 



the use of a barred flask and careful atten- 
tion in ramming. I have always considered 
that it is far more profitable to shake out a 
mould when you find that it can be im- 
proved upon, than to cast a plate from it 
and have it a source of trouble as long as it 
is in use. After you have succeeded in get- 
ting a good cope you are safe to finish the 
mould, for you know that the patterns will 
draw as you have tried them before ram- 
ming the cope. I invariably build in the 
plate before drawing the patterns for the 
reason that sand may fall in the mould 
when making the plate, and if the patterns 
are not drawn, the dirt may be blown out 
without danger of disfiguring the mould, 
while if the patterns were drawn you would 
in many cases be unable to use the bellows 
for fear of loosening corners or upsetting 
small cores, and in using tools to clean dirt 
from the mould you are more than likely to 
do some damage. 



FORMING THE PLATE 

To form the plate you will use frames 
lettered A and B, as in Figure IV. Frame 
A will be used on the joint of the flask, and 
should be the same thickness as you re- 
quire in the plate which is usually three- 
eighths of an inch, although in some cases 



the thickness varies somewhat. A plate 
less than three-eighths of an inch is more 
or less fragile, and I consider that a three- 
eighths inch plate feeds the patterns to the 
best advantage when the casting is shrink- 
ing. In some heavy classes of work, a plate 
seven-sixteenths or one-half inch thick will 
give the most satisfaction. Judgment will 
have to be used in this matter. Be certain 
that all dirt is brushed from the joint of 
flask before placing frame on joint, as in 
Figure V. After you have placed the frame 
lettered A on joint of flask, the frame let- 
tered B should be placed on the mould in 
such a manner as to have patterns cen- 
trally located on plate. The frame lettered 
B will be of the same thickness as the 
frame lettered A, and one-half or five- 
eighths of an inch will be sufficiently wide 
for this frame, for if this frame is made 
unnecessarily wide, it may interfere with 
the patterns or the parting line of the 
mould. The frame B will be of the same 
dimensions as the flask in connection with 
which it is to be used plus enough on the 
ends to allow for pin attachments or mould- 
ing machine appliances such as drawing 
devices, etc. A lug will also be necessary 
on one corner to provide for attaching of 
the vibrator. The plate I show in these 
illustrations is what is known as a slip-out 




FIG. IV. 

Frames used in forming- plate. 

The large frame will be known as Frame A, and the 

small frame will be known as Frame B. 



plate, and is used on round pins, therefore 
the pin holes may be drilled to the best ad- 
vantage, although when made for flask 
pins that are other than round, it is advis- 
able to cast these holes in the plate. After 
the frames are in the proper position, lay 
weights of some kind on them to hold them 
in place while filling the space between the 
frames with sand. It is sufficient to press 
this sand in with the hands as you are mak- 
ing a foreign joint, and it should be soft 
enough to allow the cope to press into it 
without crushing in places where the cope 
may present an uneven surface. The im- 
pression which is left in the drag by the 
sprue will be covered over by the new part- 
ing, therefore it is advisable to press a nail 
into this impression for a guide in cutting 
the gates. The parting between the frames 
should be destroyed before building in this 
sand, so as to make the sand adhere to the 
sand in the drag, otherwise you would be 
unable to blow dirt from the mould with- 
out disturbing this new parting. It is not 
practical to have a set rule for gating these 
plate castings any more so than an ordinary 
foundry practice. When patterns which 
have heavy parts are being made on a 
plate, these heavy parts are likely to 
shrink. To overcome this, use a large gate 
pin and cut the gates sufficiently heavy to 



allow the metal in the gates to remain fluid 
for as long a period as the metal in the 
plate casting. When the gates are ar- 
ranged in this manner, see that you have a 
piece of iron near at hand which is a little 
larger in diameter than the sprue. A butt 
rammer can often be used. After the cast- 
ing has been poured use this piece of iron 
to exert a pressure on the sprue. This will 
aid greatly to reduce the shrinkage. Pat- 
terns which are in proportion with the 
plate will not cause trouble in shrinking if 
the mixture of metal is right. The alumi- 
num should never be poured when too hot, 
as a perfectly good mould will yield a poor 
casting if poured when the metal is too hot. 
Stir the metal in the pot with an iron rod, 
and skim the metal until it is clean. If the 
metal barely sticks to the hot rod, it is at 
the best heat for casting. A plate which 
is made properly will require very little 
scraping. It is usually well to scrape the 
parts which have little draft, the remain- 
der of the plate can be cleaned sufficiently 
well with a wire scratch brush. 



IRON PLATES 

If at any time you have occasion to 
make a plate of this kind in iron, use an iron 
flask and make a dry sand mould. Make 




FIG. V. 
Frames in place and sand filled In to form plate. 



the mould in the same manner as described 
previously, and place it in the oven to dry. 
The time spent by the pattern maker in 
cleaning and preparing a cast iron plate for 
moulding, will more than offset the differ- 
ence in the cost of the metal. An iron 
plate is also much more heavy to handle in 
the foundry, and will not be handled as 
rapidly by the moulder as an aluminum 
plate. This match plate idea is an old one, 
but it never became popular among foun- 
drymen until they learned the value of 
aluminum in this work. 



SPLIT PATTERNS 

The best method of handling split pat- 
terns in plate work is by riveting the pat- 
terns to a metal plate, or when a wood plate 
is used the patterns may be screwed to the 
plate. It is a good plan to have a few 
wood plates in stock. These plates can be 
made about one and one fourth inches thick 
and constructed in such a manner that they 
will remain true. A piece of one-eighth 
inch band iron can be bent at right angles 
and screwed to the plate so as to protect 
the corners. Thin plates may be cast to fit 
the snap flask pins and screwed to the 
plate. A plate of this kind will be found 
very serviceable for mounting flatbacks or 



split patterns which are not to be used for 
a great length of time. Ordinarily a few 
brads will be sufficient to hold these pat- 
terns to the plate, and after the order is 
filled these patterns can easily be taken 
off the plate. In this way the same plate 
will answer for many different patterns, 
thus eliminating unnecessary expense in 
making plates for patterns which are only 
used for one run of castings. I would not 
advise you to make a plate like the above 
for work that is standard. Split patterns, 
or patterns which have a flat cope, should 
be riveted to a metal plate when they are 
to be used for any great length of time. A 
cylindrical pattern or bushing pattern to be 
cast on end, and having core prints on both 
ends, can be attached to a plate in the fol- 
lowing manner. Make the cope print on 
the pattern straight for the thickness of 
the plate, then give the remainder of the 
print the proper taper. For example, if 
the plate is three-eights of an inch thick 
and you require one inch for core print, the 
print on the pattern will be one and three- 
eighths inches long. The print will be 
turned without taper for three-eights of 
an inch and the remaining inch of print 
will have the required taper. If there are 
a number of patterns to be placed on the 
plate, lay out the center of each pattern 




FIG. VI. 
Mould finished and ready to close. 



and punch these centers for drilling. These 
holes should be drilled the same size, as the 
core print and the print will be driven 
through the hole, and in this way the three- 
eighths of an inch of print which you have 
turned straight will fill the hole in the plate 
and the remaining inch of taper print will 
project through the plate and form the 
cope print. Patterns located in this way 
are certain to match accurately and will 
not become shifted on the plate. In mak- 
ing the core box, it will be necessary to sub- 
tract the thickness of the plate from the 
length which the pattern calipers. Pat- 
terns which are flat on the cope side, and 
are all in the drag, should simply be locat- 
ed on the plate so as to facilitate the best 
method of gating, and riveted securely to 
the plate. Brass or copper rivets are pre- 
ferable, as steel rivets coat heavily with 
rust. A simple system of matching split 
patterns is as follows. Set half of the pat- 
tern on parallels with the joint of the pat- 
tern resting on the parallels, and drill one 
hole at each end of the pattern, then match 
the two halves perfectly and set the pattern 
on the drill press table with the joint level 
and finish drilling the hole through the 
lower half of the pattern. These holes 
should now be reamed for a driving fit for 
straight pins. You can now locate one half 



of the pattern on the plate and drill the 
plate through the holes in the pattern. 
After pinning half the pattern to each side 
of the plate through these drilled holes, you 
have the pattern matched and held secure- 
ly in place. You can now drill for the re- 
mainder of the rivets. A gate should be 
riveted securely in place and you will have 
a plate which will not only mould well, but 
will also be durable. A variety of mater- 
ials may be used for these plates such as 
iron, steel and aluminum. Aluminum is 
preferable as it is light and will not rust. 
Sheet aluminum can be purchased for this 
work, or these plates can be cast from a 
wood pattern of the proper dimensions. If 
care is taken in moulding, they can be made 
fairly true and a few brushes of the file will 
place them in condition to receive patterns. 
When casting these plates, it is possible to 
cast them to size and have vibrator lug and 
pin lugs cast on the plate. In this way you 
save the patternmaker the time of cutting 
a plate from the solid sheet of metal. If 
steel plates are used, I should prefer to 
purchase accurately ground plates which 
are on the market for this class of work. 
On many patterns and core boxes, it is ne- 
cessary to have loose pieces which are pre- 
ferably dovetailed to the pattern. I dis- 
covered a very good way to handle this 




FIG. VII. 
The finished plate. 




A round snap flask which is removed from the mould 

in the same manner as a jacket. 

A-I. 



dovetail job a few years ago, and I sincere- 
ly believe that I have saved many dollars in 
pattern labor by using this method. Have 
the wood pattern made in the usual way, 
with the loose piece dovetailed in place. 
Cast the loose piece in brass, and fit this 
brass piece to the wood pattern. It may 
require shimming up, as the shrinkage in 
casting may make it loose if it is very large. 
Now ram the pattern up with the brass 
pieces in place. After drawing the wood 
pattern, remove the shimming and be care- 
ful not to disturb the brass pieces as they 
are to remain in the mould. Pour the cast- 
ing and when cool, knock the brass pieces 
out and you will have a perfect fitting dove- 
tail. The loose pieces should be brass, for 
if made in aluminum they may fuse to the 
casting, which would make it impossible 
to remove them. 



SNAP FLASKS 

The old type of straight snap flask is 
being rapidly replaced by the tapered snap 
flask. It is amazing to see how much scrap 
can be saved in many instances by chang- 
ing from the old straight snap flask to the 
tapered snap flask, as a tapered snap flask 
practically eliminates crushes and runouts 
providing the jackets are a fairly good fit. 



Although in taper snap moulding there are 
points which require careful attention, as 
in everything of any importance. A point 
that I shall bring to your attention at this 
time is the importance of having the cope 
and drag match properly. Often in ad- 
justing the flask pins, the cope may be 
shifted to one side or the other and a mould 
made from this flask will show an offset, 
as the cope half of the mould will not be 
directly over the drag half of the mould. 
Castings made in this mould would be ac- 
curate enough if the mould could be poured 
without a jacket, but in pressing a jacket 
down over a mould the cope half of the 
mould will shift over to match with the 
drag half of the mould, thus causing a 
shift in the casting. This does not occur 
in straight snap moulding, as a straight 
jacket shaves the sides of the mould, and 
an offset of this kind will be shaved off 
when the jacket is pressed down over 
the mould. In ordering snap flasks for 
standard work, save all the sand possible. 
A round casting should not be made in a 
square flask any more so than a square 
casting should be made in a round flask. 
Cast-iron jackets are a paying proposition 
in taper snap work, and the new adjustable 
jacket which is on the market has many 
good points. 




Flywheel mould ready for pouring. 
A-IH. 



CONTENTS 
Chapter 1 — Judgment in Making Equip- 
ment. 

The first point to be considered, 

Equipment made without profit. 

Estimate saving. 
Chapter 2 — Proper Type of Plate. 

Compounds in plate work. 

Patterns on stripping plate. 

Patterns with pockets. 

Proper size snap flask. 

Proper gating. 

MetaJ for master patterns. 
Patterns cored out. 
Chapter 3 — Making a Plate. 

Proper grade of sand. 

Care used in making parting. 

Screw used to draw patterns. 

Patterns with one straight side. 
Chapter 4 — Forming the Plate. 

Frames used to form the plate. 

Proper thickness for plate. 

Introducing a foreign joint. 

Shrinkage. 

Proper heat for metal. 
Chapter 5 — Iron Plates. 

Moulds dried. 

Value of aluminum in plates. 
Chapter 6 — Split Patterns. 

Wood plates in stock. 

Patterns riveted to plate. 

Simple system of matching patterns. 

Aluminum preferable. 

Loose pieces dovetailed to patterns. 
Chapter 7 — Snap Flasks. 

Taper snap flasks. 

Cope not in line with drag. 

Jacket causes shift in casting. 

Proper snap flasks. 



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